Lost One
by animeduchess14
Summary: "Itachi-nii?" He looked down at her. "Thank you for taking care of me, and keeping your promise." She clung tighter. "I love you Itachi-nii." She hardly knew the man, and she already captured his heart. Knowing no one could hear them, he told her a secret. "I love you too, Sakura."
1. Prologue: A Sign

Lost One: Prologue

A Sign

_*Itachi's POV*_

It's a well known fact that Konoha Shinobi are ruthless, I being from there. But I would have never imagined that they would turn their backs against their own citizens. This was all going through my head when a little, lost girl, with odd pink hair, asked Kisame and I if we had any drinking water to spare She looked like she was on the verge of death. Her forehead bared a open deep gash, she had purple and blue bruises all over her, as if she had been beaten countless of times, yet the only appeared to be a toddler, at the most four years old. What was really surprising was the abnormally large chakra bank she had. Maybe she could be of use to us?

_*No POV*_

"What's your name little girl?" Itachi never was one to be kind to a stranger, despite their condition. "M-mommy died protecting my clan." "Your clan?" Kisame was showing a small interest towards the poor girl. "H-hai. My name is Sakura Haruno." The girl could barely get any words out. "Tell me Sakura; is your father or family still alive?" She shook her head 'no'. The two men sighed. They may be S-ranked criminals, but they weren't completely heartless.

"Where were ya going, squirt?" The little girl still found a way to answer these quizative stranger's questions. "I w-was trying to f-find a new h-home." The two criminals looked at each other, as if they were mentally debating something, until the young girl started coughing up blood, and fell to the ground. "We can't just leave her here Itachi. She needs a medic." The man presumed to be Itachi was considering his options. Konan was a medic. The base was no more than 10 minutes away. "Grab her and let's head back to base and tell Konan."

The man did as he was told, holding the frail little girl in his arms. 'What is Itachi thinking? I didn't mean go back to base.' When the three reached the base, Itachi led them to Konan's room. "Oh my god! What happened to her?" Konan took the little girl from Kisame."We found her in the woods. She claims her mother died protecting the clan, which no longer exists." "Did you notice her-" "Chakra? Yes. I'm wondering if she could be of use to us." Konan knew what he meant. "Poor girl. She must be traumatized." "Her name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura." Konan's eyes widened when Itachi mentioned her last name.

She was healing her to the best of her ability, repairing bones and stopping the internal bleeding. "Will the kid live?" "Yes but she.." "She what?" "Seems to have a curse mark." She motioned for the two to come over, and showed them the elaborate looking seal on her shoulder. A green diamond, surrounded by a circle of black spikes interweaving through the diamond. "What the-" As Konan was examinating it, the mark disappeared. "She's healing….herself." "How can a young squirt like that heal herself?" She smiled at the two men. "You two just picked up a powerful ally to have. I must inform Pein. Give these to her in two hours."

She handed Itachi two, small white pills. The three left her room, the two headed to the west wing for the spare room while Konan was heading for Pein's office. When they reached the spare room, Itachi gently layed her down on the bed. "Nii-san? Is that you?" She lifted her frail arm to find a hand. "Shh. It's ok Sakura. I'm here." He looked over at Kisame and nodded, meaning her would take care of Sakura. The little girl took Itachi's hand and held it close to her forehead. "Nii-san. Please promise me something." "What?" Her eyes were closed, but she seemed to talk fine. "Please don't leave. Until I can move again." Itachi showed a small, but kind smile on his face. "I promise Sakura." The little girl attempted to show a smile on her face. "Arigatou. Nii-san." The man held her hand until she fell asleep, which wasn't very long.

'She reminds me of Sauske.' He felt responsible for this little girl in some way. She would become a strong kunoichi under his training. She won't be lonely, and neither would he. They both would fill the missing void of their families with each other's company. She was already calling him 'Nii-san'. He had wakened her after it was two hours to take the medicine Konan provided. She figured it was candy since she was half asleep, and took it gladly. 'I won't fail you Sakura, like I did with Sauske. I will protect you.' Leader-sama entered the room with Konan. "She does have an abnormal chakra. What clan did you say Konan?" "Haruno." "She could be of use to us." The man was pondering at his thoughts. "Leader-sama, please allow me to train her once she is old enough." The man turned around. "I'll leave this in your care Itachi. Konan, prepare a room for her." The two replied with a soft 'hai', and the two left the room again. "Welcome to the Akatsuki, Sakura."

_*Next day; No POV*_

Konan had made the large room in the west wing a lot friendlier. Sakura had been asleep the whole day, and it was already two in the afternoon. Itachi periodically checked on her. "Hey, do you sense that?" "What, un?" "It feels like a new person arrived." "Danna, you don't think, un?" "It's a possibility." The artists passed Konan in the hallway. "Hey Konan, do we have a new member, un?" "Not a member. An ally." "Ally?" She nodded."She's in the last room in the west wing. She might be asleep though. I think Itachi is taking care of her." "How old is she, un?" Konan smiled, "She's four." "Did I hear you right? You said four?" She nodded again. "She must be powerful, un."

"She's the last of the legendary Haruno clan." "Haruno, un?" "One of the strongest clans in the land of fire, known for their taijutsu, healing, and it's rumored they have numerous scrolls on forbidden jutsu." "I've never heard of them before." "They tried not to be in the spotlight like the Senju and Uchiha clans." "Wait, so she's gonna be an ally, un?" She nodded again. "When she's old enough, Itachi will train her." "She's gonna have a tough sensei."

The three nodded, and departed ways. "I wonder is Leader-sama agreed to this, un?" "Well he must have." "She never did tell us her name, un." "I have a feeling we will soon." The two were already in the west wing. "Did you have a little sister Danna, un?" "No. I was an only child." The two were looking for the last room in the long hallway. "I had a little sister, un. The ANBU killed her though because they thought she had helped me escape Iwa, un." The artists finally reached the room. The blonde opened the door to find a small, pink headed girl fast asleep in the large bed. "She has pink hair?" In the Shinobi world, t hat was quite rare. "Maybe it's not natural, un." "It looks like it though." "She's so….small, un." "Well she is only four. I can't believe a four year old is in the Akatsuki." "I don't mind, she's kinda cute, un." Itachi was walking in the hallway when he noticed that Sakura's bedroom door was opened so he checked it out. He walked in to find Deidara and Sasori whispering about something.

"I trust the mission went well?" The two didn't even sense the Uchiha. "Uh, yeah. So, what's her name?" Next to the bed, he set a bowl down filled with cold water and prepared a washcloth for her forehead. "Sakura." He set the washcloth on the sleeping girl's forehead. "Haruno Sakura, un." "Are you two the only ones at the base?" "Yeah, but Hidan and Kakuzu are coming soon." "I don't think those two will accept Sakura so easily, un." It was a well known fact that Hidan pretty much hated everyone; he disrespected Leader-sama behind his back as well. Kakuzu was all about the money. "Well they will have to. She's my responsibility now." They looked at the sleeping girl. "What if you're out on a mission?" "Kisame might-""I'll help too, un. I had a little sister." "Thank you Deidara."

"When do you think she will be old enough to train?" Itachi being a prodigy and all, already figured the whole thing out. "Next year at the lest, if she shows promise." The pinkette was starting to wake up. "Nii-san?" She rubbed her eyes. "W-who are you?" "Sasori." "Deidara, un." The little girl smiled. "Dei-nii and Sasori-nii." She pointed at the two and looked at Itachi. "And Itachi." "And Itachi-nii!" She clapped her hands and giggled. "Where's Mr. Shark?" The three smirked at Kisame's new nickname. "Kisame is somewhere around here. Are you hungry Sakura?" The little girl nodded, and Itachi picked her up. "W-what is this place?" "Home." The little girl looked up at her new caretaker. "Home? It's so dark, I can't see anything."

"After a while you get used to it." "Itachi-nii?" He looked down at her. "Thank you for taking care of me, and keeping your promise." She clung tighter. "I love you Itachi-nii." She hardly knew the man, and she already captured his heart. Knowing no one could hear them, he told her a secret. "I love you too, Sakura."

_(A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Sorry it's a bit short! Still working on my other two stories! I'll submit the first chapter soon! Please review! Arigatou! ^^ )_


	2. Chapter 1: Introductions

Lost One: Chapter 1

Introductions

They walked down the large, dark hallways until they reached a large, well lit room that connected to 2 other rooms. "How does miso soup sound Sakura?" He sat her down on the counter. "That sounds great Itachi-nii!" She giggled, causing the usually emotionless man to bare a kind smile to her. After he finished making a late lunch for the two, he put the two bowls on the large dining room table, and went back into the kitchen to pick up Sakura, and sat her down in the large, dark-finished oak chair. When she tasted the soup her eyes widened. "This is so yummy Itachi-nii! Arigatou!" She smiled at the man, and continued eating. "I'm glad you like it."

She was such a sweet, well mannered girl. 'How could anyone be heartless enough to harm a defenseless little girl like that?' "Itachi-nii, you look sad. Did I say something?" The little girl picked up well on emotions. "No, I'm fine Sakura. Just thinking." "Ne? Itachi-nii, what are we gonna do today?" "You're going to meet the other members." 'Members? Is this a club? I wanna join!" He smiled at her oblivious innocence. 'If only you knew.' "It's an organization. Maybe when you get older you can."

"How old are you Itachi-nii? Sakura is…." She counted her fingers. "Four!" She said proudly. "I'm 16." She looked up at him in awe. "Wow! You're so old!" "I'm not old." "Mr. Shark looks older than you though." "His name is Kisame." She looked a bit puzzled. "But he called me squirt, and that's not my name," she pouted. "Ok, well you have a point." "He does look like a shark too," she giggled. Her smile brought an odd happiness to Itachi. He thought he had cut off all of his emotions, but she clearly broke through that wall.

"Are you talking about me squirt?" Kisame entered the dining room, with his usual grin plastered on his face. "My name is Sakura, Mr. Shark." She giggled again. Kisame sat next to the unusually happy Itachi. "I guess Hidan and Kakuzu arrived." He nodded, and quickly covered the pinkette's ears. "How the f**k shout I know Kakuzu, you lazy a** son of a b***h!" The two fumed members quickly entered the kitchen, both glaring at the little girl. "Who's the brat?" Hidan did not look like he cared, but he wanted to know anyways.

"There will be a meeting soon." "Yeah, yeah. Stupid dumba** meetings." The two proceeded to the spacious living room, which was not the far away from the kitchen. They were still arguing, but since the tv was on, Itachi took his hands off Sakura's ears. "They looked scary." 'Wait till she meets Zetsu.' "You'll meet them tonight." She quickly smiled again. "Okie dokie!"

*_BAM!*_ "Oops! Sorry sempai! Tobi is a good boy!" "Oh lord." A man with a strange, orange mask entered the kitchen and quickly picked up the pinkette in a bone crushing hug. He continued hugging her, "Aww! She's so cute! Tobi's name is Tobi! Nice to meet you!" "Tobi put her down, your suffocating her." He handed her over, reluctantly, to Itachi who held her. "What's your name?" "Sakura." She was still catching her breath. "Tobi is glad Tobi meet Sakura-chan! Ja ne!" With that said, the odd masked man ran back into the hallways. "You ok squirt?" She nodded. "He's weird." "Very." They would get along just fine with their hyper activeness. "The meeting is soon." Itachi nodded in agreement, still holding Sakura he followed Kisame into a large, dark room that already had most of the members in their respective seats.

She waved at Sasori and Deidara when Itachi sat down next to Sasori. One my one the members took their seats, taking turns looking at the pink-haired toddler, but she didn't even know since she was talking to Itachi the whole time until it got deathly quiet. Suddenly a man with orange hair and a woman with dark blue hair sat down, and everyone became silent. Pein had told the reasons of why Sakura was staying and some information (very limited at the least) about the mystery of the legendary Haruno clan. The whole time he was talking, Sakura was quietly playing with Itachi's hair, much to his dismay, but it kept her quiet.

Once he finished, he mentioned that in time they should introduce themselves to her, because she was staying here for quite some time. Some members exited once he dismissed the meeting, and a few stayed to talk to the girl. She was introduced to Pein, now 'Leader-sama', Konan and Zetsu, and everyone else had left besides Itachi and Sakura obviously. Konan absolutely loved her, like the daughter she never had, and told the little girl they would go shopping tomorrow. 'Leader-sama' seemed quite nice, but was quite hesitant to talk. Setsu was a bit weird, with two different voices, but alas no one was really all that 'normal' or 'perfect'.

Dinner came, and only a few people were sitting at the long table. "Where is everyone Itachi-nii?" Sakura, Itachi, Sasori, Kisame, and Deidara were the only ones in the dining room/ kitchen. "Usually we are the only ones that regularly eat at the table." The pinkette seemed quite saddened to hear that. Sasori, apparently is the only other one besides Itachi (and sometimes Tobi) who cooks, and he was making dinner for the small table and himself. "Aww. I wanted to meet the other guys." Itachi smiled at her. "You will within time." She smiled, and thanked for the meal in unison with the others.

The only one who was talking was Sakura, and whoever her million questions were directed to. "So Sasori-nii, what do the Ak..a-" "Akatsuki." "Yeah that! What do they do?" "Beat up bad guys." In truth they were 'bad guys', to the Akatsuki. Her face lit up with excitement. "That's so cool! So like a shin..shino-" "Shinobi?" "Yeah!" The little girl giggled. After they had finished dinner, Itachi took her back to her room (it was 7:30).

"Today was so fun Itachi-nii." Sakura yawned as he set her under the bed's covers. "Itachi-nii?" He was just about to leave the room. "Yes?" "Can you tell me a story, pweasee?" He sighed in defeat, and sat at the end of her large bed. He attempted to think of any bedtime stories he used to tell Sauske, and only could remember one clearly. He told the story of how there was once two dragons, one red that strived for war, and the other blue that strived for peace. Because of the two dragons polar opposite views, they fought an epic battle, and peace came out on top. Itachi was a pacifist after all, despite being in the Akatsuki (for his own personal reasons). The pinkette was fat asleep within ten minutes, and Itachi took his leave right after saying, "Sleep well Sakura."

_(A/N: Sorry that the prologue and this chapter were so dang short! The next chapter is twice as long! Promise! Arigatou for reading and reviewing! ^^)_


	3. Chapter 2: Acceptance

Lost One: Chapter 2:

Acceptance

**.**

**..**

… _"All I've been doing is watching you two from behind... now; get a good look at my back!"_

**..**

**.**

Sakura could walk just fine, but Itachi didn't care because he always picked her up. All of his attention (besides his missions) was on her, or the books he was reading to her. They were inseparable. And when he left for missions, she would either be with her 'Dei-nii' or 'Sasori-nii'. Slowly, but surely she was introduced to Hidan and Kakuzu, though they never interacted with her. Konan loved her like a daughter, and would spoil her (without Pein's consent). She even brought a laugh or smile to the Akatsuki's notorious leader. She was (somewhat) learning how to cook from Sasori, and Itachi taught her basic chakra control when she turned five. Sakura loved the training grounds at the fire base, but they mad to move back to Ame for safe measures. She didn't want to leave, but she told herself that kunoichi accept constant changes in their life.

_*Sakura's POV (5 years old)*_

Mornings were not my favorite, but I had to get up b right and early for Itachi-nii's training. I was really happy whenever he complimented me on my progress, so I worked hard until the last second of his training sessions. I woke up at 6:30 every day and trained until 5 pm, with a lunch break in between. When Itachi-nii was off on a mission sometimes Dei-nii or Sasori-nii would train me. But in the case of having no teacher, I would read scrolls in the library or hang out by the small lake in the training grounds. I didn't mind if I was alone, but I didn't mind getting attention either.

When I turned 6, I hardly saw any other members at base, and because of that I became quite shy since I was by myself so much. Of course all that time didn't go to waste, because I trained practically every day, read scrolls on forbidden and medical jutsu, and by the time I turned 7, I was already considered a chunin. I never disrespected any members, (in fear of my life, especially Hidan) and was quite cautious not to aggravate anyone. Whenever Hidan cut one of his limbs off, I was the one to put it back together. Medical ninjutsu fascinated me. Sometimes Itachi-nii brought back medical scrolls back from a mission for me.

_*Sakura's POV (age 7)*_

It was about 11 am, and it was one of those rare sunny, rain-free days in Ame. Everyone was out on missions, so I decided to hang out by the lake today. I brought a book to read, and sat on the edge of the dock, with my feet in the water. I was minding my own business, just sitting at the dock reading, when someone came up behind me. From sensing their chakra, I could have sworn it was Tobi, but he had a different voice, and his mask was off. "Hello, little one." "T-tobi?" I looked around, but he disappeared, at least I thought. He was standing right in front of me. "Tobi?" He bent down to my level, crouching down on the water. "Ssh. I am Tobi, but that is not my real name." He had long, spiky black hair and the same red Sharingan eyes Itachi-nii had, except his looked sinister.

"W-what is your real name then?" He had a creepy grin plastered on his face. "Can you keep a secret?" He vanished again, only to reappear next to me, almost giving me a heart attack. "I can." He had a rather low, deep laugh. "Madara." I've heard of that name before somewhere."Then why do you act as Tobi, if your real name is Madara?" He disappeared, and was in front of me this time. "You will learn in time, little one." "W-wait!" He disappeared again, and I didn't see him anywhere.

I have this feeling that I should really tell Itachi-nii about this, because I never keep secrets from him. I know I've heard of that name somewhere, to the library it is! I walked back to the base, which was unusually quiet, and into the library. It took a while, but I finally found a scroll on the Uchiha clan with the name 'Madara' enlisted in it. It said that Madara Uchiha was the founder of Konoha (along with the Senju clan). He was ruthless, extremely powerful, and was assumed dead. "Dead?" I was just about to read about the battle at the Valley of Death, until I heard a voice.

"Sakura?" It was Dei-nii. I quickly got up from the floor (I don't know why I didn't sit at a table), and attempted to put the scroll away. I could feel his presence behind me, so I put the scroll behind my back. "Whatcha readin'?" He bent down to my level. "Oh, just research." I can't believe I said that, I made it even more obvious by adding a small fake laugh to it, he could obviously see through my façade. "Can I see it?" "Umm…" I never disrespected anyone, but I didn't want him to know. "It's nothing interesting. I'll just-" He took the scroll from my hand. "Research?" He looked at me suspiciously as he opened the scroll.

Should I tell him? No. I can't. I have to lie."Yeah, I..um wanted to know more about the 5 great Shinobi countries." I was looking down at the floor, totally aware of his glare. "But this is about the Uchiha clan." "Yeah, Itachi-nii is an Uchiha and um the Uchihas' are from Konoha, which is um... one of the 5 great Shinobi countries." He stood up. "I guess that makes sense, un." He handed me back the scroll. Sometimes, he was just too dense. "See ya later Sakura, un." He left the library without another word.

Without thinking twice, I quickly put the scroll back into its original spot. When I turned around, I heard that deep, dark monotone voice again. "Not very good at lying are we, little one?" I couldn't see him anywhere when he said that, but he slowly appeared from one of the library's corners. "I…um." He laughed again. "It's only natural you want to know." He handed a scroll to me and whispered, "For your eyes only." And disappeared again. I quickly ran out of the library to my room and hid the scroll in my desk. I didn't want to read it, not yet. I was terrified to see what was in it.

I sat on my bed, and looked over at my clock, almost dinner time. I hope Dei-nii doesn't tell anyone about the scroll I was reading. The last thing I want is no one trusting me, especially Itachi-nii. He was supposed to be back from a mission by dinner time too. I got off my bed, glancing at my desk once, and left after I turned my lights off, only to run into Dei-nii in the hallway. "Umm..Dei-nii?" I looked down at the ground. "About the scroll…." "It's ok, un. Just reading right?" I looked up at him and nodded with a smile. We walked to dinner together, casually talking about things I've recently accomplished and his views on art.

When I saw Itachi-nii in the dining room, I couldn't help but feel guilty. I always gave him a 'welcome home' hug, but I couldn't bring myself to do so, and sat as far away as possible from him and Kisame. I didn't look, talk, or respond to him. I could tell he was looking at me every so often, but I just continued eating in silence unaware that Dei-nii was talking to me until he tapped me on the shoulder. "Sakura, un? You there?" I looked up at him, dumbstruck. "Um, uh yeah. I'm fine." He sat down nest to me and whispered, "If it's about the library, I didn't tell anyone. It's not that big of a deal, un." "Oh. Thanks." I smiled at him, while he continued talking about how wrong Sasori-nii's view on art was.

I could tell he knew it was bugging me, but I couldn't tell anyone the reason why. I just have to act like I never met him, that's all. I'm totally blowing this out of proportion. There's no way 'Madara Uchiha' is alive, and there's no way he's talking to me when I'm alone, I must be delusional or something. Instead of going to living room like usual, I ventured back to my room, only to see (how surprising) Itachi-nii in the hallway. "Sakura, did something happen while I was away?" "No. Just a long day, Itachi-nii." I sighed, totally not wanting to be in this situation. "I'm not so sure about that. You can tell me anything Sakura, you know that." "H-hai." I walked quickly past him and when I reached for my door, I slammed it. 'I hope I didn't hurt his feelings.'

_*No POV*_

Itachi was quite puzzled by Sakura's actions, so he turned to Deidara, the only one who she seemed to talk to today. "Deidara, did something happen to Sakura today?" The lazy blonde along with Kisame sat on the couch watching tv. "No why, un?" "Well she's acted strange since I got back." "She didn't tell me anything, un." "Oh, ok." Itachi obviously knew he was lying, but he would figure it out soon enough, he could read Sakura like a book. The Uchiha thought back to how the pinkette was always happy, laughing, and working hard on her training. She's never lied to him, or anyone for that matter, at least as far as he knew.

_*Next morning; Sakura's POV; 9 am- library*_

Itachi-nii and I were reading genjutsu scrolls, which we have been doing for the past two months. He hasn't said a word to me since we started reading 2 and a half hours ago. I had to act normal, because he was really getting suspicious. I wasn't a very good liar or actress for that matter. "Is something wrong, Sakura?" "Uh, no." Crap. He was catching on, I had to tell him sooner or later. I continued reading, until I heard him sigh. "There's obviously something you're not telling me." His calm, yet demanding voice made me uneasy with myself. "Well, it's a secret." I said waaaay too much."You shouldn't keep secrets Sakura." He knew from the moment I snapped at him there was something wrong, I just walked right into another lecture. "I know. B-but I can't tell anyone." I shouldn't have said that. CURSE MY ACTING SKILLS! "Any why is that?" Honestly, I didn't know why he wanted me to keep it a secret, so I used my reasoning to form a hypothesis.

"Because it could hurt the people I love." I bit on my lip, a nervous habit may I add, which wasn't helping my cause whatsoever. "Sakura, just tell me. I can fend for myself and you as well. Now just spit it out." I couldn't keep it from him; the guilt was killing me, because I was obviously blowing this out of proportion too of course. I never dealt with lies, because they always come to bite you back in the butt later on. With a soft sigh I hesitantly began my rant. "Ok. Well yesterday a man confronted me while I was at the lake yesterday. He claims his name was Ma-"Suddenly I felt a warm hand over my mouth, and I disappeared from the library, to my room? "I thought you were going to keep it a secret, little one." "I um, I'm sorry! I'm not good under pressure. Please don't hurt me." I put my head between my knees since I was on my bed. I heard a faint chuckle in my room, and it wasn't from me.

"Why would I hurt you little one?" I lifted my head up into onyx colored eyes. "B-because I almost told your secret." I felt him disappear from my bed. "Hmm. That is true. But I couldn't put it upon myself to hurt you." "W-why?" "Because, you will be strong, little one. In time you will be unstoppable. I can't kill you because you are too important." "U-unstoppable?" "You should read that scroll, little one." He disappeared in the blink of an eye. Itachi-nii must be worried about me. But I can't tell him about Madara, even though he told me he wouldn't kill me, I still can't tell anyone. I have a feeling I do NOT want to mess with that man. It seems he is the type that always gets what he wants, so I have to be cautious around him, and whatever I do I cannot attach to him, because surely that would be the end of me.

I'll just have to make something up. I rushed through the hallways t find frantic Itachi. "S-sakura?" I rushed into his arms. "Please don't hate me." "Hate you?" He pulled me away a bit to look at me. "Who was that man?" "I'll tell you, once we get in the library." He was probably wondering, 'why not just tell me now', but for all I know Madara could transport anywhere at any time and members use this hallway a lot. "Ok." We walked back to library without saying anything to each other, which at least gave me some time to conjure up a lie, despite how awful it was. When we sat down in the library, I was hesitant to talk, because I was still thinking of a good lie in which I needed to possibly stump the Uchiha prodigy. "Please tell me Sakura." He looked quite worried; I mean I did just disappear out of now where.

"You were saying how you met a man by the lake named Ma-?" "Markel." I looked at the table. "Was that who that man was?" "H-hai. He's a new subordinate." He looked confused, maybe this was working..? "How come I've never heard of this…Markel?" Ok, so maybe that didn't work. "Well he's a subordinate for a reason." He rolled his eyes at me. "That still doesn't explain how he vanished with you." "Honestly, I don't know why. I appeared in my room the next second, and he wasn't there." He seemed to buy it. "So…" He didn't say anything. "Um…" "Why are you lying to me Sakura?"

My heart almost stopped. "Well?" I couldn't respond, I was speechless. "Sakura, answer me." I couldn't take the pressure, so I ran for it. How stupid was that. I knew I couldn't outrun him, but I tried anyways. He caught me by my arm in the hallway. "Sakura, tell me!" I started to cry, "I CAN'T! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" I broke free from his grasp, and ran to my room, knowing he was just standing where we just were. I've never yelled or disrespected anyone here, until now. I felt so ashamed, and I started to cry into my pillow, until I heard a voice, the one I was really starting to hate.

"You should really work on your lying skills, little one." I almost jumped up out of fear. "M-Madara?" I felt him sit on my bed. "You haven't read the scroll I presume." I turned around, "N-no. I'm going to now. C-can you stay?" Why I felt the need for him to stay, I don't know. I was an emotional wreck. "Of course." He showed a small grin. I got up off of my bed and retrieved the scroll from my desk, and sat down next to Madara. It was entitled 'Haruno Forbidden Demon Seals'. "W-what is this Madara?""Something that will make you stronger." "Stronger?" He nodded, and I opened the scroll farther.

It explained how if a Haruno unseals the invisible mark given to them at birth, it would unleash a certain type of demon, depending on which one they were given at birth. Sakura's father was the clan leader, so she had one of the most powerful demons, one that could control all of the elements, including yin and yang release. The Haruno clan kept this information away from the other clans, and only opened their mark if absolutely necessary, for like a war or something, because it was so powerful. The demon would be under complete control of their vessel, and was considered to have a chakra bank bigger than a jinchuriki (sp?).

"I will train you, little one." I looked up at him. "Meet me at the training grounds at 10 pm as often as you can." I nodded, without questioning. "B-but Madara-""Yes?" "Why are you training me?" "You will learn soon enough, little one." With that, he disappeared from my room. I really didn't want to go to dinner, but my stomach said otherwise. I put the scroll back, and found a small note on my desk, from Madara. _'Tell him that he should ask Leader-sama about 'Markel'. I already figured it out, so don't fret little one. Remember- 10 pm.'_ I put the scroll along with the note in my desk, and headed for the dining room.

Itachi looked really mad, but luckily didn't unleash his wrath upon me. None of them said anything to me really, and I figured it's because if the fight I had with Itachi, news travels fast around here. After I finished, I handed a note to Itachi before leaving that I wrote beforehand. It just said what Madara told me to tell him. It was 7 now, so I had 3 hours to waste. Why did he want me to train so gosh darn late, seriously? I decided to read over the scroll again, making sure I didn't miss anything. "So this is what he meant by _'unstoppable'_?" The Haruno clan was strong, despite their mark, and everyone saw that as a threat.

I put the scroll away, and decided to take a nice, relaxing hour bath. When I got out, I still had about 2 hours to waste, so I sat on my bed, just reading, and then I heard a knock at the door. "Come in." It was Itachi-nii. I sat up, as he walked over and sat next to me. "I talked to Leader-sama." I looked up at him. I wish Madara would have told me what he told him. "I'm sorry I pushed you about it." What the heck did he tell him? "It's ok, you didn't know." Truthfully, neither do I. He smiled and gave me a hug. "Forgive me?" "Of course. Sorry I yelled at you."

"I understand why you did, so don't worry about it." "Thanks Itachi-nii." "I have a feeling I may need to say this, for the near future, but you always can count on me, ok?" I nodded. He pulled away swiftly, and headed for the door, with his classic 'smirk' on his face. "Stop growing up so fast Sakura." I stuck my tongue out at him, to which he rolled his eyes and I laughed, and then he closed the door. At least he isn't mad at me anymore.

_*10 pm; training grounds*_

It was so dark out, I couldn't see a thing, and I was so tired, I just sat on the ground, because I was ten minutes early. "Tired?" I looked up to see Madara. I nodded, and got up from the ground. "Um...Madara, I was wondering-"He tilted his head, "You don't trust me do you?" Does he read minds or something? How was I supposed to respond to that? "Well, it's just-""It's understandable. You don't really know me anyways." What the heck? "I was just going to ask you what you told Leader-sama." "Ah, right. Well firstly you should know, I am the true leader of the Akatsuki. I give orders to Pein." "Huh?" This guy was making no sense. "Why do you think he accepted bringing you in so easily?" I always wondered about that.

"Why are you trusting me with all of these secrets?" He obviously needed something from me, but I couldn't tell what. "Because I have to trust you. You don't lie very good anyways, little one." "Yeah, I never did like lying. I guess I just still don't understand why you want to train a simple kunoichi like me though." I looked up at his crimson eyes, dangerous yet captivating. "You are no simple kunoichi, little one. You have the power to become stronger than I." This guy was bananas, there is no way I had that much 'power'. I just stared at him, dumbstruck, speechless how to respond. "Come; let's take a walk, little one." Didn't he just ask if I'm tired?

I finally caught up to him when he said, "I know you did a bit of research on me, but not that much I can tell." I tried to be knowledgeable about everything in the shinobi world, so I immersed myself in reading, all the time. "I didn't really get to finish the whole passage, but it did say you were dead." He actually _laughed_ when I said that. "Ironic isn't it?" I don't think it's ironic, I think it's downright creepy. He could tell that I was trying to analyze his previous statement, which he seemed to be annoyed with. "I can't tell you yet how I am alive, but I can answer your other questions." Oh of course, he wouldn't answer the only question I really wanted to be answered.

He was trying to gain something from me, …trust? "Ok, well you said that you had to trust me, because I can become _'unstoppable'_? And how did you get that scroll?" Instantaneously, he pulled me over closer to him by putting his arm over my shoulders. "Once you get rid of that mark, you will have an equivalent if not higher chakra bank than a tailed beast. And that scroll? That took me a while, but the whole Haruno compound is completely wiped out, similar to the Uchiha compound." _Uchiha._ This guy was from the same clan as Itachi-nii.

"You're an Uchiha right?" "I was the leader, little one." "Oh, right." I looked away from his gaze, he truly frightened me. "Is something wrong?" I thought back to how the library scene played out. "It's just….I hate going behind Itachi-nii's back, that all." His face showed confusion. "But sometimes you have to lie to someone, in order to protect them." He had no idea, lying to someone is horrible, but I simply didn't fell like arguing. "Your right. So, what are we training today?"

"Well, the first week you and I will study up on that demon of yours. I'll get Pein to release you out of the base so we can go to the Haruno compound." I stopped walking. "W-what? Go back t-there?" "Right, that won't be a problem will it, little one?" When I first got to the base, I always had nightmares about my old home, to which only Itachi-nii knows about. "I just…have nightmares about the place." I continued walking, much to my displeasure, I did NOT wanna talk to this guy. "I see. Well it is necessary you come with me." "H-hai. Sorry."I looked down at my feet as I begrudgingly continued walking with him. He let out a small laugh, and took his arm off of my shoulders. He bent down to my level, much to my discomfort, (seriously personal space?). "Soon you'll see, I'm just a big teddy bear like Itachi. I only have good intentions for you." What the heck was this guy talking about? I smiled when he mentioned Itachi-nii. He would never be like him, _ever_. "Ne? How old are you Madara?" I poked his forehead. "Older than you." I let out a gasp, "Hopefully!" He stood back up, which made me nervous. "You should get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow." He patted my head and disappeared. I walked back to my room quietly, and curled up in my bed, knowing I wasn't going to get much sleep from now on.

_(A/N: Gaah! This is such a stupid question but could someone tell me what a "beta" is? A reviewer suggested I get one, but I have no idea what they are. Sorry, this chapter came out so late. R&R please! Did you notice the Howl's Moving Castle I added? Markel is soo cute! Arigatou! ^^)_


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